Myth?
by Chihuahua
Summary: One of the Quest Team has a strange encounter... or was in paranoia?


Author : Chihuahua  
  
Date : 27th December 2001  
  
Disclaimer : I do not own any of the TRA: JQ characters, therefore I am not making any cash out of this fic. All unrelated characters belong to me. Kindly ask for my permission before using them.  
  
Category : Adventure  
  
Rating : G  
  
Archiver's Permission: Granted to those who want it, just let me know where it can be found.  
  
MYTH?  
  
I stumbled carelessly through the brush, each step sinking in the deep snow. I had never liked snow much, it was only beautiful when it fell, but when it melted, it was horrid and slushy. However, living in Maine had pretty much taken away the hate I had originally felt and replaced it with a sense of disdain.  
  
I would much rather be at home, in front of a blazing fire with a piece of classic literature. Instead, I find myself trudging along these treacherous forest paths. Lost!  
  
I felt sick. I have never been lost before. Well, at least not to the extent of such utter unfamiliarity with my surroundings. I was truly lost this time; there was no way I could find my way back without any assistance. My companions seem to have vanished from sight, leaving the hopeful prospect of being found seem in vain at this very instant.  
  
I took another step, before realising that I had stepped off a rock and tumbled forwards into a pile of snow.  
  
"This is just fantastic!" I muttered to myself. I picked myself up and kicked viciously at the pile of white that had broken my fall. Not that I was ungrateful, but out of sheer frustration. It was highly unusual for me to lose my temper, but being stuck out here with nothing but trees, bushes and snow seemed to be driving me insane.  
  
Why had I even consented to leaving the campsite? After all, these woods have been branded recent "aberrant form sighting area". Of course, Race and Benton had given us firm warnings about the possible danger of these woods. And of course, Jonny and Jessie had decided that any unusual life form should be given a chance to be proven as some docile farm animal. As usual, their ingenious method of proving such a theory was to run into the very vicinity of possible danger, and if they came out alive, it could be concluded that whatever it was out there was harmless. Or it simply proved that they were very lucky. a point I had tried making countless number of times. Not to any avail.  
  
I looked around again, mentally reprimanding myself for having been so bloody reckless. Whatever happened to watching out for landmarks anyway? I kicked myself for having not followed Race's number one rule in their 401- crash course of what to do when navigating unfamiliar territory.  
  
Well, I did notice that we were passing plenty of evergreens, with snow all over. Big deal, every tree in this region was either an evergreen or bald, in either case, snow blanketed them. I was tempted to yell for help, but the thought of drawing whatever was roaming about out here was not at all comforting.  
  
In my thoughts, I had not realised that I had probably wandered even further off course. I now stood in front of a shallow bank; the roots of some tree were visible where they protruded from the bank. However, what frightened me was the dark opening that lay behind the roots. It looked big enough for someone of Race's stature to enter, probably even bigger.  
  
I stood rooted there for a long time; I have no recollection of how long exactly. My watch had been left at base camp, which was the reason why using the built-in communicator had not been possible. Another major flaw on my part. Not taking the communicator and not noting landmarks. Race would probably grill me over this.  
  
The next thing I knew, I was running, screaming incoherently. Something had triggered off the much-needed dose of adrenaline. In a second, I was flying down the riverbank, screaming in between ragged gasps.  
  
What had triggered the sudden fearful impulse? Until now, I cannot be sure. Was it a movement in the darkness that I had seen? Or was it something that I had heard? All I'm sure of is the fact that something had terrified me to the point of incoherence.  
  
The next thing I knew, I was back at base camp. earlier than Jonny and Jessie who arrived minutes later. They had heard my screams and had followed it back to base camp. Apparently they had noticed my absence and had been tracking me.  
  
After some concerned reprimanding, I finally told them of my experience. When asked if I could show them the way to the site, I denied knowledge. I said that I had been too terrified to take note of my trail. It was a lie of course; all I had to do was tell them to follow the riverbank. But that place will remain a secret for a long, long time. I do not intend to return to the place, neither do I wish to have others do so. Whatever it was that had scared me would remain undisturbed as that was probably its will.  
  
THE END  
  
Comments anyone? Send them to me at wenxina@hotmail.com 


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